Known in the state of the art are various methods for treating inflammation of the mucous membrane or of the paranasal sinuses, in particular sinusitis. However, current procedures for treating sinusitis, both acute and chronic, centre above all on three basic problems to which a solution is to a greater or lesser degree decisive as regards the efficacy and duration of the treatment. These problems are: re-establishing ventilation and normal draining of the paranasal sinuses, halting the process of inflammation and swelling of the mucous membrane and combating the infectious microflora.
Said illnesses are often treated in a conservative way, involving the use of antimicrobic products which are not always effective, since in some cases they stimulate resistance to the pathogenic microflora of these products which, in their turn, are not sufficiently innocuous.
In the first phases of acute sinusitis these treatment procedures provide for oral administration of first-line antibiotics such as ampicillin and amoxicillin. If these prove to be ineffective, then amoxicillin and clavulanic acid or cephalosporins of generations II and III are prescribed [Ellen R. Wald, MD, Chronic sinusitis in children. Journal of Pediatrics, 1995, 127 (3) 339; Inexpensive Antibiotics are as Effective as Newer, More Expensive Ones in Treating Acute Bacterial Sinusitis. Press Release, Mar. 23, 1999. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Rockville, Md.; and Glenn Isaacson, MD, FAAP, FACS, Sinusitis in Childhood, Ped. Clin. of N Am., 1996, 43(6):1305].
The role of antibiotics in treatments for chronic sinusitis is smaller than in the case of acute sinusitis, since the main purpose is to re-establish normal ventilation of the ethmoidal sinuses, to which end local-action decongestants are applied, which, accompanied by antibiotic therapy, eliminate the swelling of the mucous membrane, improve drainage and re-establish the functioning of the eustachian tube and of the ethmoidal sinuses of the nose. However, the application of local decongestants for a period of more than five days can cause medicament-induced renitis (Zeiger, R. S., Prospects for ancillary treatment of sinusitis in the 1990s. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol., 1992, 90:478). In the case of pathologies in chronic state recourse is had to surgical intervention, cleaning the paranasal sinuses by means of direct puncturing.
In view of all that has been stated above, the treatment of acute or chronic sinusitis is a long and complicated process which, in function of its gravity, can take several years. Furthermore, the sources consulted were unable to confirm the total efficacy of the treatments applied in normal practice.
The possible solution to the problems of sinusitis is to be found by seeking and studying new methods of treatment.
Known in the state of the art is the utilisation of alternative treatments which make use of biologically active substances of natural origin. However, there does not exist in the state of the art any bibliography on the vast majority of substances of natural origin.
The wild plant Cyclamen europaeum L., in this invention called cyclamen plant, belongs to the Primulaceae family, and although it is a very popular plant in many countries of the world, its use is limited to decorative purposes. Little information is available about its medicinal properties, and there is reference only to use of the juice or powder obtained from the plant for treating headache.
On the basis of the state of the art, therefore, there exists no product as an alternative to antibiotics for treating sinusitis.